A Life Worth Living
by BraxtonBoys666
Summary: Life was never boring when you were dating a Braxton, but for Olivia, it was the life she chose and she wouldn't change it for the world. Heath/OC
1. Chapter 1

Standing on the beach with Heath's arms wrapped around her, Olivia checked her watch and reluctantly pulled away from his warmth.

"We need to head back to the house if we want to be ready on time."

"We?" Heath asked with a frown, "You're coming?"

"Only if you want me there," Olivia replied, earning a nod and pressing a quick kiss to his lips as he entwined their fingers.

Returning to the Braxton house, Olivia left Heath to talk to Brax and went to get ready. Joining Brax in the kitchen a while later, she smiled at him in thanks as he handed her a cup of coffee and took a seat at the table. Hearing Heath curse under his breath, she looked over to where he was struggling with his tie and went to help him out. She had just finished straightening it when the door opened, and Cheryl walked in.

"What's she doing here?" Cheryl inquired as soon as she spotted Olivia.

"She's here because we want her here," Brax stated without hesitation, "Don't start today mom."

Following the boys out to the car a while later, Olivia climbed in beside Heath and wrapped her hands around his. Ignoring the glares that Cheryl was throwing her way, she stared out the window and allowed her mind to wander back to her own dad's funeral.

'Standing with her mom at the open graveside, Olivia looked around at the people gathered and wondered what they were all thinking about. It was raining heavily, and dark clouds had gathered above there heads, which seemed quite fitting for a funeral.

She was surprised to see so many people there to grieve over the loss of one man, although she was pretty sure that most had come to make sure that he was dead and for that she couldn't blame them. Her dad had hurt a lot of people and committed some terrible crimes, for which, he would never be forgiven… not even in death.'

Feeling slight pressure on her hand, she pulled herself out of her thoughts and realized that they were already arriving at the cemetery. Taking her place at Heath's side, she felt him tense and looked up to see Casey being led towards them in handcuffs.

"You can't hate him forever, you know," Olivia whispered in Heath's ear, sending Casey a sad smile and noticing how tired he looked.

Listening as the vicar spoke, she kept her eye on the youngest Braxton and frowned as he swayed on his feet. Nobody had any stories about Danny Braxton, no memories that would bring any comfort to those grieving and his body was soon lowered into the ground. Casey was led away after that and everyone else returned to the house, where they had a few drinks. Standing in the garden with her hands wrapped around a glass of pineapple juice, Olivia felt a flutter of movement in her stomach and smiled.

"Are you sure that you don't want something stronger?" Ricky asked from behind her, causing her to jump and nearly drop her drink, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you…"

"It's fine," Olivia replied, shaking her head as Ricky offered her a bottle of beer, "I was miles away."

"Anywhere nice?"

"Just lost in my own head as usual."

"Can I ask you a question that you may not want to answer?"

"Sure."

"Are you pregnant?"

"I..." Olivia stammered, unsure whether to answer or not, "How did you know?"

"I noticed that you've been wearing more baggy clothes lately and there are times when you'll touch your stomach or cover it protectively," Ricky explained with a smile, "How far along are you?"

"Twenty-one weeks today," Olivia admitted, sitting on the steps and running a hand over her face.

"I'm guessing that Heath doesn't know?"

"I want to tell him, but I'm scared," Olivia replied honestly, "There's so much going on at the moment and I'm scared that me telling him that I'm pregnant will be too much... that I'll be left alone to raise our kid alone."

"I'm not going to tell you that everything will be okay because I don't know that, but I do know that you're family and no matter what happens you will never be alone."

"Thanks, Rick," Olivia mumbled, smiling as Ricky put her arm around her shoulders and hugged her.

"Congratulations."

* * *

 **Author's Notes** : _Thought I'd try something a little different with the Braxtons! Thanks for reading_


	2. Chapter 2

Taking a few days to build up the courage to tell Heath about the baby, she arranged to meet him at the diner for lunch and nervously entered to find him already waiting. Taking a seat opposite him at the table, they ordered their food and sat in silence for a few minutes before Heath spoke.

"You okay?" He asked with a frown, earning a nod from Olivia and continuing, "What was it that you wanted to tell me?"

"First, I need you to promise that you won't freak out and storm off," Olivia told him to buy herself a little more time.

"I promise," Heath agreed.

"I'm pregnant... You're going to be a dad."

"You're... no, no, no, no," Heath mumbled, standing up and rushing off without another word.

Staring after him as he left, Olivia fought back the tears that threatened to fall and paid for their uneaten lunches before following. Unsure of what to do, she made her way over to the house and knocked on the door.

"Liv?" Ricky said as she answered the door, pulling Olivia into a hug and leading her over to the sofa, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really," Olivia mumbled, wiping away the tears that were now cascading down her cheeks, "I thought he'd be happy..."

Feeling exhaustion wash over her, Olivia went to have a laydown and woke up a few hours later to Ricky gently shaking her to tell her that dinner was ready. Joining the others at the table, she felt her heart sink as Heath ignored her and ate in silence.

"Does someone want to tell me what's going on?" Brax inquired, looking around the table for someone to answer, "Anyone?"

"I'm pregnant," Olivia told him.

"That's great news, isn't it?"

"I thought so, but it turns out that I wrong," Olivia replied, excusing herself from the table and returning to the bedroom.

"What did you do?" She heard Brax ask Heath as soon as she disappeared from view.

"I didn't do anything," Heath argued, "I'm not cut out to be a dad, Brax... just look at the example I had growing up. Liv will be a great mom, but that kid deserves so much more than me and it's better that I admit that right now before I hurt them both by letting them down."

"Heath, I get it... you're scared, but so is Liv and she needs you," Ricky stated, "After everything you've been through together, are you really going to let fear win?"

"I don't want to be the man that everyone warned her that I was," Heath admitted, "I want to prove to her that they were wrong, but what if I can't?"

"You already have..." Ricky told him, "Go talk to her, Heath... before you make a mistake that you may not be able to fix."

Hearing a chair slide across the floor, Olivia sat down on the bed and watched as Heath appeared in the doorway. Knowing that she had heard the whole conversation, he walked over and took a seat next to her.

"I'm fully aware of your flaws, Heath, but no matter how infuriating you can be at times... I love you and I know that our baby will love you too."

"I shouldn't have reacted the way I did and I know that I don't say it nearly as often as I should, but I do love you, Liv."

"I know," Olivia mumbled, lying down on the bed and relaxing as Heath wrapped his arms around her.

Entwining their fingers, she moved their hands and rested them on her slowly growing bump. She knew exactly what she was getting herself into when she started dating a Braxton, but the good moments, for her at least, massively overshadowed the bad and they had become her family.

Waking up the following morning to her phone ringing, Olivia retrieved it from the bedside cabinet and groaned as she saw that it was her dad.

"Who is it?" Heath asked as he pushed himself up onto his elbow.

"My dad," Olivia replied, sitting up and pressing the answer button, "Hello."

'Liv, I need you to meet me at that diner in the Bay in an hour.'

"Why?"

'Don't question me, Olivia, just do as I ask and do not bring that good for nothing Braxton with you.'

"Fine," Olivia mumbled, hanging up and running a hand over her face, "He wants me to meet him at the diner in an hour."

"Any idea what he wants?"

"Nope, but it's not going to be anything good..."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"I'll be fine," Olivia promised, standing up and grabbing a change of clothes as she headed towards the bathroom.

Taking a quick shower, she got ready to leave and headed into the kitchen to say goodbye.

"Be careful," Heath said as she kissed him, nodding and waving goodbye as she walked out.

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes:**_ _Thanks for reading... I think Heath was a little out of character in this chapter, but I like it all the same :) Let me know what you think!_


	3. Chapter 3

Arriving at the diner, Olivia ordered herself a milkshake and sat at an empty table to wait for her dad. She had been waiting for ten minutes, when he walked in and made his way straight over to where she was sitting.

"Thanks for coming," he said as he took the seat opposite her, "How are you?"

"I'm fine, but we're not here to talk about me," Olivia replied, "Why did you want me to meet you here?"

"I have a job for you," her dad told her, leaning back in his chair and continuing, "I've been doing some business with an old associate, my usual kind of stuff and I need someone I trust to make a few deliveries for us."

"I already told you that I don't want anything to do with the family business," Olivia stated, standing up and leaving without another word.

"This isn't just about me, Olivia."

"What else is there?" Olivia asked, spinning round to face him and waiting for an answer.

"A few weeks ago, I sent Branson on a delivery and things didn't go to plan," her dad explained, causing anger to wash over her, "Things got messy with a buyer and your brother nearly got shot."

"What the hell were you thinking getting him involved?" Olivia snapped, "He's sixteen years old for god sake, he should be focusing on school and worrying about girls, not nearly getting shot by some scumbag on a drug run for his dad."

"The delivery was routine, I don't even know why they were armed in the first place..."

"That's not the point," Olivia argued, running a hand over her face, "I'll do the job, but I am not doing this to help you... I'm doing it for my brother."

"I understand that."

"I'll swing by later to collect the packages and delivery details, when are they expecting them?"

"Any time before noon tomorrow," her dad said, "Thank you."

"After this, I'm done with everything," Olivia told him, "I have a life of my own to live and I refuse to spend any more of it clearing up after your mistakes, that's not my job."

Walking away, Olivia headed back to the Braxton house and smiled as she spotted Heath waxing his surfboard. Kissing his cheek in greeting, she grabbed herself a bottle of water from the fridge and sat down.

"What did your dad want?" He inquired without looking up.

"The usual..." Olivia replied with a shrug, knowing that she needed to tell him the truth, "He needs me to do a couple of runs for him."

"What?" Heath added, stopping what he was doing and looking at her, "Are you serious?"

"Yeah."

"What did you say?"

"I couldn't say no," Olivia stated, seeing the anger flash in his eyes and cupping his face with her hand as she moved over to him, "Hey... it's just a couple of routine deliveries, nothing I haven't done before and I've already made it clear that this is the last time."

"I don't want you to get hurt," Heath admitted quietly as he relaxed under her touch, placing his hand on her bump, "I don't want our unborn baby to get hurt."

"Everything will be fine."

Heading down to the beach to watch Heath surf, Olivia frowned as she spotted Branson sitting on the sand and made her way over. Ruffling his hair as she reached him, she took a seat without a word and nudged his shoulder.

"Hey," he greeted, refusing to look at her and playing absent-mindedly with the sand in front of him.

"Dad told me what happened," Olivia added, "Are you okay?"

"Not really," Branson admitted, shaking his head and quickly wiping his eyes, "I don't want to be there anymore, Liv, I feel like I can't breathe with dad around..."

Hearing the raw desperation in her brother's voice, Olivia knew that she had to do something and made a decision.

"Give me a few days and I'll sort it," Olivia told him, wrapping her arm around his shoulders and pulling him into her side, "How about we wait for Heath to finish his surf and then we go for lunch?"

"That sounds good."

Talking for another hour, they waited for Heath to finish surfing and arranged to meet him at the diner. Wrapping her arm back around Branson's shoulders, she led him up to the diner and grabbed a table. The most important person in Olivia's life had always been her little brother and she would do anything to keep him safe... to keep him out of their dad's lifestyle.


	4. Chapter 4

Heath finally joined them twenty minutes later, slapping Branson on the shoulder in greeting and taking a seat next to Olivia with a smile. Branson had never shared their dad's hatred towards the Braxton's and got on well with all the brothers, making things a lot easier on her.

"Are you going to tell him?" Heath asked out of nowhere as Branson went to the toilet.

"I want to, I just wasn't sure if you were ready for other people to know," Olivia replied with a shrug.

"His family... tell him."

Waiting for Branson to return, Olivia tried to figure out how to tell him and relaxed when Heath took her hand under the table.

"Is everything okay?" Branson inquired with a frown, "You look like you're about to cry."

"Everything's fine," Olivia reassured him, before taking a deep breath to steady her nerves and continuing, "I have something to tell you, but you have to promise that you won't tell dad..."

"I won't tell dad."

"You're going to be an uncle," Olivia told him, smiling as a grin spread across Branson's face and chuckling when he got up to hug her with tears in his eyes.

"Does anyone else know?"

"Just you, Brax and Ricky."

Finishing their lunch, Branson headed to the surf club to meet his friends and Olivia went to pick up the packages from her dad. Not wanting to keep the stuff in Brax's home, she decided to make the drops and drove to the first address.

Everything was going fine, but the next drop was on Jake Pirovic's turf and she knew that things were about to go south. Making the final delivery, she left the address and was walking back to her car when someone grabbed her from behind.

"What do we have here?" a male voice said in her ear, causing her to panic and struggle against her assailant's grip.

Co-operating as she was forced to her knees, Olivia swallowed nervously and closed her eyes as the muzzle of a gun was pushed against her head. Hearing the click as it was cocked, she felt her entire body begin to tremble and allowed tears to roll down her cheeks.

"Your dad must really learn to stop making deliveries in my area," came Jake Pirovic's voice from somewhere in front of her, "My guys tend to be a little trigger happy with trespassers."

"I just deliver where I'm told to," Olivia replied, opening her eyes and looking up at Pirovic.

"I want you to take a message back for me," Jake added, motioning for his guy to let her go and waiting for Olivia to stand before hitting her across the face, "Tell him that the next person I catch making deliveries in Mangrove, will receive a bullet through the head, understood?"

Nodding, Olivia jumped in her car and pulled away without looking back. Arriving at her dad's house, she stormed inside and found her dad in a compromising situation with one of his usual women.

"Liv," he greeted with a smile, "I expect everything went according to plan?"

"Yeah, your deliveries are done and so am I," Olivia told him, "I have a message from Jake."

"Oh, what does he have to say?"

"It's a warning, the next person you send out to Mangrove will be shot and he was being serious."

"Sure he was," her dad replied with a chuckle, looking up as Branson entered the room and gasped.

"What happened to your face?" he asked, a mixture of anger and worry flashing in his eyes.

"It doesn't matter," Olivia stated, moving over to where he was standing and forcing him to look at her, "I want you to go pack a bag and wait for me in the car... don't forget your school stuff."

"Where's he going?"

"To pack, did you really think that I was going to leave him here with you?" Olivia added in disbelief, "You nearly got him killed once already and that's not going to happen again, so he's going to come stay with me... where I know he's safe."

"Doesn't the boy get a say in it?" the woman commented.

"Stay out of it, this has absolutely nothing to do with you," Olivia told her with a glare.

"Don't talk to her like that," her dad warned, causing Olivia to scoff and shake her head, "Show some respect."

"Whatever you say, dad," Olivia mumbled as she walked out, climbing in the car and smiling at Branson as she pulled away.

* * *

 _ **Authors Notes**_ : _Thank you to everyone who has been reading this, the love is much appreciated :)_


	5. Chapter 5

Pulling up to the Braxton house, Olivia smiled over at Branson and climbed out. Waiting for her brother to join her, she put her hands on his shoulders and knocked on the door.

"Hey babe, everything okay?" Heath asked as soon as she stepped inside.

"Yeah, I just need to grab some clothes," Olivia replied, "Bran doesn't want to stay with my dad, so I'm going to rent a room at the motel tonight and talk to Alf in the morning about staying at the caravan park."

"I've got a better idea," Brax stated as he emerged from the kitchen with Ricky, "You're going to need space when the baby comes, so why don't you move into the flat opposite with Heath and Branson can have Heath's old room?"

"Are you serious?" Olivia inquired, looking over at Heath and seeing the smile on his face.

"The place needs some work and probably a touch of paint, so Branson can just use Casey's room for now," Brax added, chuckling as Olivia hugged him and kissed her head.

"Thank you."

"You're family, Liv," Brax replied with a shrug, "Have been since way before you and Heath started dating..."

"What do you think, Bran?" Olivia asked, wanting to make sure that he was happy and comfortable with everything.

"It sounds good to me," Branson agreed with a smile.

"Why don't you show Branson to Casey's room and I'll order us pizza?" Brax suggested with a smile.

Nodding, Olivia placed her hands-on Branson's shoulders and showed him to Casey's room. Sitting on the single bed in the corner, she observed her little brother closely and noticed how at ease he seemed.

"Liv, can I ask you a question?" Branson inquired, earning a nod from Olivia and taking a seat beside her.

"What's up?"

"Did dad make you do the deliveries because I screwed up?"

"Dad didn't make me do anything, Bran, I agreed to do it and I would do it all again if it meant keeping you out of it," Olivia told him honestly, "I don't want that sort of life for you and I know that that's not what you want either..."

"Thank you," Branson mumbled.

"What for?"

"Everything..."

"You're my little brother and I will do anything to protect you from dad, but I need you to promise me something."

"Anything."

"I need you to promise that you'll stay out of trouble... that you'll stay in school and focus on getting the grades you need to get out of here."

"I promise," Branson agreed, smiling at Olivia and hugging her from the side, "I want to make you proud and show dad that I'm not just a worthless waste of space... that I don't have to be like him to succeed in life."

Smiling, Olivia nodded in response and stood up. Hearing Brax call them from the other room, Olivia motioned for him to lead the way and followed him through to where everyone was waiting. Taking a seat beside Heath, she gave him a nod to show him that everything was okay and cuddled into his side as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

Olivia spent the next couple of weeks working on the flat with Heath, getting the place decorated and tidied ready for them to move in. Everything seemed to be slowly slotting into place, she was happy and more importantly, Branson was.

Heading to the diner on the day of the move, Olivia bought everyone breakfast and smiled as Leah handed over her order. Making her way back to the Braxton house, she quickly spotted the police cruiser and took a deep breath as she walked in.

"Liv," Charlie Buckton greeted with a nod.

"What have we done now?"

"Nothing, I was actually looking for your dad," Charlie added.

"Well, this is the last place he'd be," Olivia replied, "Have you tried the house or the bar?"

"We have, but no luck..."

"I have no idea where he is then and I really don't care, but he'll raise his ugly head at some point."

"Thanks for your time."

"Happy to help."

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes**_ : Sorry for the wait...


End file.
